Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-02-04

When God would set fast beautiful
| thought He plants it in a tree. When He
| would make it Goat the waters He fashions it
into FISH. When He would have it ghde
the air He molds it into bird. For some
| of US the structure and habits of birds have
a very great fascination. The blackbird,
Coating like fake of the darkness
through the sunshine. The meadow lark,
| with head of fawn and throat of velvet, and
breast of gold The red flamingo, flying over
| the swamp like spark struck from the forge
of the setting sun. The reliean, black and
WHITE morning and night tangled in his
wing. They seem to be not more of earth
than Heaven, because they are all the time
| vaclllatng between the two. do not Won
der that Audubon took his gun and tramped
| through the American forests to find some
new specimens of birds. Biologists have
| given whole years to find the track of birds
claw IN the new red sandstone. There is
enough of Gods architecture in snipes bill
| or grouse's foot to confound al the univer-
| sltles Musicians have tried with bars and
| clefs to represent the mu ic of the nightin-
| gale and the robin. One of the first things
that child notices is the swallow at the
| caves OF the house, while grandfather
comes out with a handful of crumbs
to feed the snowbirds. "Behold the fowls of
| the air, said Christ in His 81 eat sermon and
| Isaiah, looking forward to the time " hen
there would be great multitude of people
coming to Christ and coming to the church,
Is reminded of a flock of pigeons alighting on
! coop, and then all those pigeons together
trying to got into the window of the coop,
and he cries out in the words Of my text
| VINO are these that fly as cloud, and as
the doves to their windows!n
This is memorable day in Brooklyn Tab
ernacle. On other days we drop the net; to-
day we haul itir On other days we send
out invitations to the Kings party to-day
we sit at the banquet On other days we
! light the battle; to-day we claim victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ Men and
| women who have toiled and contributed and
| prayed for the advancement of this church,
take into your soul to day with high salts.
faction all this scene. Bring garlands
tion to celebrate this harvest home.
| Oh the mercy of God People tell me it is
notion. Then put on it four swift sailing
crafts, with choice rigging and with compass
and chart and with skillful navigators, and
tell them to launch away and tell us the ex-
tent of this ocean If Gods mercy, And
they start, and one ship goes to the north,
and another to the south, and another to the
east,and another to the west, and they sail on
| ten thousand years, and after a while they
come up to the harbor of Heaven and some
one cries from the Heavenly land: "Have you
found the shore of Gods mercy~ and
Gods mercy" And then swift an.
gels are dispatched from the throne,
and they try to fly across this ocean
of divine mercy, and they fly on ten thou
sand years, and they fly on million ears
and then come back, and they fold their
wings at the foot Of the throne of God, and
some one cries out: "Have you found the
shore to the ocean of Gods mercyY' And
they say: No shore, no shore to the ocean
of Gods mercy" Mercy, mercy l sing it.
| plead it, pray it. Here is man bound
hand and foot by Satan, ard one stroke of
this Gospel hammer makes him everlast-
lngly free. Mercy, mercy There is
no height it cannot clear. There is no depth
it cannot fathom. There is no immensity it
cannot compass. When large number of
persons join church the first natural cues
ton that arises is, who are they What has
been their character Where did they
come from What is their history And
so looking off upon this great multitude who
to-day have connected themselves with the
Christian church, l cry out in the
words of my text: "Who are these that fiy
as cloud and as the doves to their wndowsY
They are slaves who have been emancipated
they are soldiers who have enlisted for a
thirty years war; they are heirs of immor-
tality; they are blood-washed throng This
multitude who flock into the kingdom of God
to-day are like doves 10 their windows be-
cause they fly low. The eagle darts up as
though with his beak to strike the
sun, and many of the other birds fiv
SO high that sometimes they appear
like specks against the sky. and you
cannot tell the contour of their bodies,
OF the style of their plumage If SPORTS
man discharges his gun at them they are so
nigh up they do not for an instant change
their course But the pigeons fly low. They
fly all around the roof of the house: they fly
around the door. They are afraid of great
attitudes. They never make any high
excursions, They are like the souls
who this day come into the dove
cote of Gods mercy, wanting no high
things, willing to come down at the feet of
Christ, willing to crawl under the table and
take the crumbs that fall from the Masters
Table Not so were they once Once they
were proud; once they were puffed up: once
tney We're lnexorable; once perhaps they
have changed their course: thew have
come into the dovecot of Gods mercy,
But they fly low. They remember
the years of their sin-sins of bow
hood, girlhood, manhood, womanhocd.
dark brooding, deathful sins, sins arair 81
God, sins against the Bible, sins against Oh, il
soul, sins. against the judgment day, SIM
these things They fly low. l have heard
that in England, in an institution Of chai ity
where people are taken and cared for, thai
before they take Off the rags of their poverty
and wash off the filth of ther abomination
a picture is taken Of them as they
are; so that in after time they
may remember what the institution has done
for them. And here is picture OF what we
were before Christ redeemed us. We were
in the rags of our sins and the filth OF ouI
abomination. Unclean, uncleanl Though
now in the light and the peace and the pros
perity of the gospel, and robed in the right
eousness of the Son of God, let us once in O
while come and look at the old picture OF
what we once were. Then we Will hy
low. Those souls who come into the kingdom
to-day should remember that they are coming
into the presence Of a God who hates sin. He
abhors iniquity. He cannot abide trans
gressions He slew the $4,000 of Sennach-
cribs host in a night "Holy, holy holy is
the Lord God Almighty" Fly lowl An
emperor thousand years ago planted rose
bush which is blooming yet, and nineteen
centuries ago, at the foot of the cross of the
Son of God, a rel rose was planted which Is
blooming yet. You want to stoop down and
pluck that rose. You want to stoop down
and breathe that fragrance Oh, for more
of the humility of the Gospel. Oh for more
of the childlike spirit. Let us fly low.
This multitude who flock into the Kingdom
Of God also come like doves to their windows
because they fly for shelter. The albatross
makes throne of the tempest. The sea
gulls have a frolic in the storm, and the
higher the surf dances the better they arC
pleased. But the pigions at the first blow o
the northeast storm HE to the dovecot, anC
when the birds Of prey, with flashing ey,
and iron beak and filthy talons come dowr
the pigeons, the doves, Immediately HE t,
the dovecot And so it is with those VIII,
come here to-day, who enter the Kingdom o
God. They come, what forl For shelter
Sin has been after them. Sorrow has beei
after them You are followed out by YOU
dog when you want him TO go back, and yol
bid him home. You start on your walk, lool
back and the dog is following. You say
Back with you, home with you" You g,
on, and after while accidentally yol
look back and with sneaky treaC